The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:

A total rip-off

Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend

Merchant response: We're sorry to hear that the Linozips aren't working well for you, and we'd like to help. We hope you'll call us at 1-800-723-2787 at your earliest convenience to speak with one of our Customer Care Agents.

Thought I would give these odd little cutters a try. I purchased the more standard speedball linoleum cutters to replace my vintage set. I love the old ones desperately, but they've been ground down to almost nothing.

The overall quality of all the speedball cutters has deteriorated a bit. They're lighter, despite being made of thicker metal, and don't hold an edge quite as well. Forgivable offenses, in my opinion. But less forgivable is the fit in the handle. They don't.

Some do. I'd say about 4 in my set of 11 actually fit well in the Speedball Linoleum Cutter Handle. Fit like they're supposed to. The rest wobble, they fall out in the middle of carving. They get stuck and I have to yank them out with pliers. They take two minutes of wiggling to force them into the handle. One I can't cram in there at all.

I compared the U at the base of the cutters with the U on my vintage set. The old ones are identical, despite years of abuse. The brand new ones are all unique. Even the ones that fit.

Why I'm posting this to this particular product instead of the standard linoleum cutters; the ill-fitting cutters are not such a problem when you're pushing. The pressure mostly holds them in, when they fall out it's in between cuts. Not so with these. Also the wiggle factor affects the quality of the cut with these more so than with the others.

If they fit in the handle they might actually be a usable cheapie cutter. As they are... I've learned my lesson and am finally springing for a grown-up linoleum cutter set.

The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:

Average

Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend

Merchant response: We are sorry to hear that the Linozips you received were defective. Our Customer Care team will contact you to assist you with a return or exchange. If you are ever unsatisfied with a product, or it doesn't work like it should, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-723-2787. Our top priority is getting you the best product for your projects!

I did not finish any of the tasks I started with these blades; I have up, in each case, and went to standard linoleum-style forward-pushing blades. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but either the idea is in fact flawed, or these were just too dull. Either way, I'll send them back.

The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:

A solid value

Merchant response: At Blick we always attempt to provide the best information possible to our customers. However, these types of issues do arise occasionally and we apologize for this. We have updated this page to reflect that the Speedball Linozips are designed for right-handed users. If you ever have an issue with your order, please contact our Customer Service department via email or by calling (800) 723-2787 and we will do our best to rectify the situation.

Learn basic block printing techniques using various Speedball materials. This video includes information on traditional linoleum block, Speedy Carve Block and other easy to use products for the beginner to advanced artist.